


Free Spirit

by VoidofRoses



Series: Sunshine, Moonlight, Starlight [5]
Category: Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson
Genre: F/M, Genderfluid Character, M/M, Moomin has two hands, Moomin is a bi disaster, Polyamory, Snorkmaiden closes the gap, Snufkin leaves for winter, but Snorkmaiden is a bigger one, genderfluid snufkin, mood ring snorks are a gift and should’ve been kept in every adaptation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-16 00:52:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18680791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VoidofRoses/pseuds/VoidofRoses
Summary: Moomintroll perhaps understood the nature of Snufkins more than most did.





	Free Spirit

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this out while listening to the Moominvalley soundtrack so fluff was bound to happen.
> 
> (ALL SMALL BEASTS SHOULD HAVE BOWS IN THEIR TAILS)

A year into their relationship, Snufkin decided to pack up and leave for winter, out of the blue. He stayed as long as possible, helping prepare them for hibernation by collecting pine needles and the very last of the autumn berries so that Moominmamma could make her famous jam for him to take along with him (not that she didn’t already have batches in storage but it was still nice of her).

Moomintroll hid his heartbreak - after the last winter when he’d stayed with them, he really shouldn’t have expected Snufkin to stay around another. Just because they were boyfriends now it shouldn’t compromise his freedom; he’d said as such one day last spring, that he didn’t expect the other boy to tether himself down for him. Snufkin was free to come and go as he pleased, and Snufkin had smiled at him and thanked him by squeezing his hand. Moomintroll perhaps understood the nature of Snufkins more than most did.

Snorkmaiden, on the other hand, had only been in a semi relationship with the tramp for the last three seasons. He was Moomin’s boyfriend, she’d said so in the first place when they had first gotten together, but as she had grown to know him better over the spring, summer and autumn, she found her heart opening up to the idea of loving another. He was terribly clever, quick witted and always prepared with a snark when the time called for it, mostly directed at Stinky and occasionally Sniff. There were plenty of things to admire about him.

“How can you stand it?” she asked Moomintroll one day, the two of them fluffing out the furniture covers for mamma in the backyard. At his puzzled look, she elaborated, looking down at her paws as she held her broom close to her. “How could you stand waiting for him? It must be pure agony.”

He paused, lowering his own broom and curling his fingers around it, drawing it towards his body. “It is,” he confessed, cheeks tinging pink as he tilted his head away. “I didn’t know it was pining before, but I do now. I guess...” Moomintroll sighed a bit wistfully. “I guess it’s just knowing that he’s going to come back is enough.”

“But what if something bad happened to him?” she asked tersely, biting her bottom lip. “Would you still wait for him?”

“Well...yes I suppose. Or I’d go on a journey to find him.” Moomintroll took that moment to stand back, brandishing his broom like a weapon. “Facing perilous foes and nasty weather, I’d search high and low for Snufkin, creating an epic to rival Pappa’s stories.” He stopped shortly after and flushed, rubbing the back of his neck. “At least, I’d like to think I was brave enough to do something like that.”

Snorkmaiden rolled her eyes at her boyfriend and stepped through the sheets to kiss his cheek and bump their snouts. “Of course you’re brave enough, my Moomintroll. And...” she paused, tilting her head. “...I would like to think myself brave enough to come with you. They say two heads are better than one.”

He beamed at her, his tail wagging behind him. “Of course you could come with me, Snorkmaiden.” Moomin lowered his broom, causing it to sway and sag in his hand by his side. “What brought this up?” Her fur turned pink with embarrassment, the colour highlighted in her bangs, turning her head to hide her face. Moomin’s eyes widened with realisation, a grin forming on his face as his ears perked forward. “You _love_ Snufkin, don’t you?”

“N-no! I...”

“You do. You loooove him, you wanna daaaaate him~” Snorkmaiden shoved at her boyfriend and hid her face in her paws, dropping her broom in embarrassment.

“Who?” The two of them jumped at the voice, turning to see Snufkin walking up the small hill towards them, hands wrapped around the straps of his backpack. He tilted his head in some amusement, turning his attention to Moomintroll. “Snorkmaiden has another crush?”

“Snorkmaiden is right here and can speak for herself,” she grumbled out, stomping on Moomin’s paw to stop him from speaking, causing him to yelp and jump in alarm instead.

“You didn’t have to do it so harshly,” he whined at her, grumping as he crossed his arms.

Snufkin looked at the both with a smirk, stepping back onto one foot away from her to keep his own paws safe. “It’s a shame it’s so close to winter, or I’d stick around to see who the lucky guy was,” he said jovially, rocking back and forth from the balls of his feet to his heels before stepping closer to his boyfriend. He leaned forward to give Moomintroll’s snout a kiss, raising a hand to tilt his hat. “I suppose I’ll find out in spring.”

“Or you could find out right now,” she said a little breathlessly, suddenly feeling tight in her chest. Snorkmaiden’s fur was positively glowing pink, from her bangs to the very tip of her tail. Watching Snufkin raise an eyebrow, she swooped in, tilting her head to plant a kiss to the corner of his mouth. Snufkin’s eyes widened and Moomintroll hollered, laughing at the look on the mumrik’s face.

“That’s how she got me too, all those years ago,” the troll said, watching his boyfriend and girlfriend take a step back to look at each other.

“I...are you sure, Snorkmaiden?” he asked, ignoring Moomin altogether as he watched her glow go from pink to golden yellow. “I mean you...do know I’m...”

“I know.”

“And I’m about to leave for winter.”

“Seemed like the best time to bring it up,” she said with a huff, drawing her tail around her to thread her fingers through the tuft at the end, looking away. “You can have a think about it while we sleep.”

His cheeks flushed red, Snufkin scratched at his chin, closing his eyes. Such a time to reveal what she was feeling to him, but then again Snorkmaiden seemed to have a penchant for drama. His own tail swished back and forth behind him as he paused in thought. Moomintroll was the bisexual or pansexual or whatever out of the three of them, at least he’d thought so up until now. Snufkin didn’t know where he lied, and neither had Snorkmaiden. When he’d revealed to her in summer that he’d been born a girl, she had eyed him with some surprise but not shock, and now he understood why.

She’d been assessing her own feelings, coming to terms with what she thought she knew about herself wasn’t true. Snufkin had done it time and time again, when figuring himself out, and he still did, mulling over whether or not things changed.

Change was good, or so they said.

“So you’re leaving?” Moomin’s voice broke the silence that had built up between the three of them, poking his head between his boyfriend and girlfriend in curiosity.

“Mmm? Oh yes.” Snufkin nodded, opening his eyes to look at both of them. “Word has it that there’s snow beginning to spread over the Lonely Mountains so I’d better leave now before it gets too thick on the path around them.” He reached for Moomin’s paw, giving it a squeeze. “I’ll be back in spring.” He looked at Snorkmaiden. “For both of you.”

Snorkmaiden blinked in slight surprise. “You...”

“Like you said, I’ll have winter to think it over.” Snufkin gave her a smile and squeezed her paw reassuringly as well, then withdrew his hands and fetching his harmonica from his pocket. “Sleep well.”

“We will. Safe travels.” Moomintroll nodded and wrapped his arm through Snorkmaiden’s as the vagabond bid them farewell, turning to walk down the garden path towards the familiar bridge, hands drawing to his mouth. A song danced on the wind, sad in tune but with promises of happier days in spring.

———

He said yes to her.


End file.
